Singapore

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Despite its small size, Singapore is jam-packed with impressive sights, delicious bites, and never-ending nights to explore the grand city-state. From multi-cultural spots to sacred spaces to even a tropical island, Singapore has melded the new and the old to create jaw-dropping backdrops among the city’s most picturesque spots. Even their airport is a destination in and of itself! So, while you may need a magnifying glass to locate this nation on a map, once you touch down, you’ll get lost in the immense grandeur of the Lion City.

Singapore Changi Airport

While it may rank as one of Asia’s largest, you won’t loathe a layover when you land at this airport. In fact, some visitors plan a purposeful stop just to glimpse at the transportation hub’s iconic waterfall – The Rain Vortex. Not just a lavish water installation, this water tunnel actually serves an important purpose. A feat of engineering, the Vortex rains down from the atrium into the airport to help control the temperature of the unique greenhouse and its botanic spaces, including a tropical butterfly garden. But if that’s not up to your snuff, they also have sky walks, colorful phones, and some very friendly robots.

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60 Airport Blvd., Singapore 819643

Koon Seng Road Colorful Peranakan Shophouses

Known as the country’s most colorful street, these pastel properties are a quintessential aspect of Singapore’s streetscape. Known as Peranakan Shophouses, they traditionally belonged to wealthy traders who flaunted their success in the ornate designs on their facades. We wonder what they would think of our age’s newfound love of minimalism.

287 Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427540

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery

Celebrating 100 years in 2025 since its initial founding, the name of this establishment loosely translates to “genuine, beautiful treasures.” Sitting down at a table within this iconic light blue coffee shop, you’ll see that it is not false advertising. A bundle of treasures awaits any patron, most famously the confectionery’s “Kaya Toast,” with pieces of charcoal-grilled buns slathered with a coconut and pandan custard and butter. Trying a couple of cream horns on top of that wouldn’t hurt.

204 E Coast Rd, Singapore 428903

Kopikhoo

Sometimes a little alley window is just decor. In Singapore, however, it could be a coffee shop! Run by 73-year-old Paulin Khoo, this one-woman enterprise hides behind a Peranakan-style wooden window in a residential alley. Paulin does it all: taking all orders, making every drink, and making sure that each perfectly poured beverage reaches the right customer. A Khoo creation could soon be yours, too, if you’re able to find the right alley.

112C Tembeling Rd, Singapore 423606

Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club

It’s not often one attends a cabaret full of “chirping.” With over 1,000 outdoor pole birdcages (or some would say stages), this musical club lets the birds do the crooning. There are regularly hosted birdsinging competitions, or sometimes club members gather just to socialize to the music of their aviary musicians.

Block 159 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, Singapore 560159

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery

Within a small city-state, it’s quite impressive for anything to be the size of eleven soccer fields. First founded in the early 1920s, the largest Buddhist Temple in Singapore is home to a monastery, the Buddhist College of Singapore (BCS), and an impressively large indoor bronze Buddha statue.

88 Bright Hill Rd, Singapore 574117

Sultan Mosque

In 1936, four years after the completion of the Sultan Mosque, a loud-speaker system was installed to increase the volume of the structure’s call to prayer (the first of its kind in the world). While some attendees to the mosque were skeptical, it’s said the prayers could be heard of “more than a mile,” important in a bustling city. Another unique feature? The black bands under the dome of the roof isn’t made of normal glass, but rather soy sauce bottles donated by poorer families during the reconstruction. These bottles represent community among Singapore’s Muslim population and show that even the smallest contributions can make a huge difference.

3 Muscat St, Singapore 198833

ATLAS

Opened in 2002, you might feel more like you’re stepping back into the 1920s with jazz age decor putting any great art deco architect to shame. Even the drinks here are crafted to bring you back in time, named after historic events that took place between 1900 and 1939. They’re so good, it’s even made the list of Asia’s Best Bars. Now that’s the cat’s pajamas.

Ground floor, 600 N Bridge Rd, Singapore 188778

Chijmes

Can you hear the bells “Chijme?” Now a vibrant complex with restaurants and outdoor space, this event space was almost as lively when it was first founded–but only on school days. Originating in 1854, this Gothic-style space was once the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, home to a school and orphanage in its 130-year-old history.

30 Victoria St, Singapore 187996

St. Joseph's Church

This terrific triple-towered structure holds the honor of Singapore’s first Roman Catholic church. The present structure dates back to 1912, and various decorative ornaments in both its exterior and interior pay homage to the Portugese priests who first founded the holy site. Blue tiles embedded into the building’s outer walls are reminiscent of what you’d find in Porto, and depict scenes of Our Lady of Fatima, who appeared in the Portugese countryside.

143 Victoria St, Singapore 188020

Central Fire Station

In the early 19th century, Singapore’s fire team was just a loose organization of lightly trained volunteers. When the first true team was created in 1888, they needed a proper station, which still stands as the oldest fire station in the country.

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62 Hill St, Singapore 179367

National Gallery of Singapore

This museum may only be a few years old, but this prominent structure has seen decades of history pass through its doors. From the swearing in of Singapore’s first Prime Minister to the surrender of the Japanese occupation, this single building was once two – the Supreme Court and City Hall. Today, it hosts the world’s largest collection of Southeast Asian art and a whole lot of history.

Singapore 178957

Peranakan Museum

Housed in a handsome old school, this museum holds one of the finest collections of Peranakan artifacts. Recently reopened to the public after a long restoration, visitors can get an up-close glimpse at Peranakan jewelry, textiles, furniture, and more spread across ten galleries.

39 Armenian St, Singapore 179941

Raffles Hotel

From beach house to boarding house, the Raffles Hotel wore many hats before it was transformed into a luxury hotel at the turn of the century. With close proximity to the beach, home of the famous drink the Singapore Sling, and a reputation for high service standards, Singapore’s oldest hotel quickly became a destination for the influencers of the world.

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1 Beach Rd, Raffles Hotel, Singapore 189673

Former House of Tan Teng Niah

Thought to have been built by Chinese entrepreneur Tan Teng Niah for his wife in 1900, this rainbow of a home was one of many villas in the neighborhood. Built due to their proximity to the industrial corridor of Singapore (and thus an easy commute), these villas had unique detailing and woodwork to show off their owner’s wealth. In the case of this particular house, no part of the structure was spared, from its own paint to the lunettes to the bamboo roof to the prominent decoration. Though it’s the only villa still standing, it’s anything but lonely—this one has embraced every color combination imaginable, carrying forward the vibrancy once shared with its sister villas.

37 Kerbau Rd, Singapore 219168

People’s Park Complex

After a fire razed the old Pearl’s Market in the 1960s, city officials saw the chance to experiment with a brand new design concept, a “city under one roof.” Featuring a large atrium known as the “city room,” the vast interior hosts the People’s Park Market along with residential units, office spaces, and other shops. Going out to the store when it’s right outside one’s living room.

1 Park Road, Singapore 059108

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

This seemingly odd-named temple gets its title from a relic that sits within its walls. Recovered from a funeral pyre in India and brought to the temple, it is thought to be the left canine tooth of Buddha himself. Weaving through the intricately designed prayer rooms up to the fourth floor to catch a glimpse of a portion of Buddha’s smile.

288 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058840

Sri Mariamman Temple

This tower of color is the oldest Hindu Temple in Singapore. First constructed in 1827 on South Bridge Road with wood and attap (a palm plant native to India and Southeast Asia), the complex features a gopuram six levels high, full of Hindu deities. Now that’s a many-hued party we can get behind.

244 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058793

Thian Hock Keng Temple

With intricate carvings and a bounty of broken porcelain roof tiles, this temple structure holds a little secret: it was built without nails! Assembled in the traditional southern Chinese architectural style, the beams and materials were made to all fit perfectly together like a 4D puzzle. Walking through the exactly built structure, it’s easy to understand that the original craftsmen of the temple absolutely nailed it.

158 Telok Ayer St, Singapore 068613

Yueh Hai Ching Temple

Translating to “Temple of the Calm Sea of the Guangdong People,” this sacred space exudes tranquility. Teochow immigrants originally constructed the temple as an offering of thanks for safe passage to the Lion City and for protection in years to come. The complex consists of two prayers halls, one for the goddess Mazu and the other for Xuan Tian Shang Di, the patron deity of this immigrant community. Gazetted as a National Monument in 1995, it appears the prayers for protection are working well.

30B Phillip St, Singapore 048696

MDDI Building

Eccentrically painted shutters and doors? Count us in. Taking a step back makes it easier to see the rainbow of colors stretching across this national monument. Once used as housing for Singaporean police forces and utilized as a jail, the building has gotten a bright multi-colored makeover and now serves for senses rather than serving up sentences.

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140 Hill St, Police Station, Old, Singapore 179369

Jinrikisha Station

There was once a day when the streets of Singapore were filled with carriages drawn not by horses, but by men. Known as rickshaws, these carriages were cheaper than keeping horses and rose quickly in popularity. Needing a place to serve as a registration depot, this station was created. As trishaws – or carriages pulled by bike – rose in popularity, the station was converted and later purchased by Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan.

1 Neil Rd, #01-01, Singapore 088804

Southernmost Point of Continental Asia – Sentosa

Looking at a map, the “Southernmost Point of Continental Asia” landmark in Sentosa isn’t even the most southern part of the island of Sentosa. However, this low-hanging suspension bridge does lead to quite the tranquil escape. The two observation towers do help you look towards the south.

Palawan Island, Sentosa, Singapore

Redhill Station

This striking strawberry-milkshake-colored station is a part of one of the most extensive public transit systems in Southeast Asia. Located in the Redhill neighborhood, the area is the setting for a legendary character—and it’s not the Pink Panther. Local folklore suggests that Redhill’s name derives from a young boy, a school of swordfish, and a little jealousy. Seeing residents being attacked by swordfish, a boy in the area conceives the idea to build a banana-stem fence in order to prevent further danger. Building the boy’s fence, the town sees great success, but the local king becomes jealous, fearing the boy’s cleverness. He orders the boy to be killed, but as the soldiers approach the boy’s home, an old woman curses them and causes red liquid to flow down the hill, giving the area its reddish soil to this day.

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920 Tiong Bahru Rd, Singapore 158792

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AWA, Vol. 2 (2024)

AWA, Vol. 1 (2020)

Postcards

Puzzle

Koon Seng Road Colorful Peranakan Shophouses

Chin Mee Chin Confectionery

Kopikhoo

Kebun Baru Birdsinging Club

Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery

Sultan Mosque

ATLAS

Chijmes

St. Joseph's Church

National Gallery of Singapore

Peranakan Museum

Former House of Tan Teng Niah

People’s Park Complex

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Sri Mariamman Temple

Thian Hock Keng Temple

Yueh Hai Ching Temple

Jinrikisha Station

Southernmost Point of Continental Asia – Sentosa

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